Hearing Care Blog

Solitude is Harmful For Your Health. Fight it With This

You’reimissing calls now. sometimes, it’s that you can’t hear the phone ringing. In other cases dealing with the garbled voice on the other end is simply too much of a hassle.

But you’re staying away from more than just phone calls. You missed out on last week’s softball game, too. This sort of thing has been taking place more and more. Your starting to feel somewhat isolated.

The real cause, of course, is your hearing loss. You haven’t really determined how to incorporate your diminishing ability to hear into your everyday life, and it’s resulting in something that’s all too widespread: social isolation. Escaping isolation and getting back to being social can be complicated. But we have a few things you can try to make it happen.

Acknowledging Your Hearing Loss is Step Number One

Often you aren’t really sure what the cause of your social isolation is when it first starts to occur. So, noticing your hearing loss is a big first step. Scheduling an appointment to get fitted for hearing aids and keeping them well maintained are also important first steps.

Recognition could also take the form of alerting people in your life about your hearing loss. Hearing loss is, in many ways, an invisible health condition. There’s no particular way to “look” like you have hearing loss.

So when somebody looks at you it’s unlikely they will notice that you have hearing loss. To your people around you, your turn towards isolation could feel anti-social. Making people aware of your hearing loss can help those around you understand what you’re going through and place your responses in a different context.

Your Hearing Loss Shouldn’t be Kept Secret

An essential first step is being honest with yourself and others about your hearing loss. Making certain your hearing remains consistent by having regular hearing exams is also important. And curbing your first inclinations toward isolation can also be helpful. But you can deal with isolation with several more steps.

Make it so People Can See Your Hearing Aids

There are plenty of individuals who value the invisibility of hearing aids: the smaller the better, right? But if others could see your hearing aid they might have a better recognition of the struggle you are going through. Some people even go so far as to emblazon their hearing aids with customized art or designs. You will encourage people to be more considerate when conversing with you by making it more apparent that you have hearing loss.

Get The Appropriate Treatment

Coping with your hearing loss or tinnitus is going to be much more difficult if you aren’t correctly treating that hearing ailment. Management could be very different depending on the person. But usually, it means using hearing aids (or making sure that your hearing aids are properly calibrated). And your everyday life can be substantially affected by something even this basic.

Let People Know How They Can Help You

It’s never fun to get yelled at. But individuals with hearing loss routinely deal with individuals who feel that this is the best way to communicate with them. So letting people know how to best communicate with you is vital. Perhaps texting to make plans would be a better option than calling. You won’t be as likely to isolate yourself if you can get everyone on the same page.

Put People In Your Pathway

It’s easy to avoid everybody in the age of the internet. That’s why you can steer clear of isolation by intentionally putting yourself in situations where there are people. Instead of ordering groceries from Amazon, go to your local supermarket. Meet up for a weekly card game. Make those activities part of your calendar in an intentional and scheduled way. Even something as basic as taking a walk around your neighborhood can be a good way to run into other people. In addition to helping you feel less isolated, this will also help you to identify words correctly and continue to process sound cues.

Isolation Can Be Hazardous

If you’re separating yourself because of untreated hearing impairment, you’re doing more than limiting your social life. Anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, and other mental concerns have been linked to this type of isolation.

Being sensible about your hearing problem is the number one way to keep yourself healthy and happy and to keep your social life on track, acknowledge the truths, and remain in sync with family and friends.